11 Sentimental school essentials

Whitney Coy is a freelance writer and editor based in Columbus, OH, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. She writes frequently for SheKnows, as well as several other websites. She writes on topics including parenting, trav...

Throwback school supplies you and your kids will love

Remember the feeling of the first day of school? Cracking open that new backpack and filling your desk or locker with all those brand-new, carefully chosen school supplies?

We can remember some of those supplies like it was yesterday. Let's face it, some of the school gear from our day was awesome. Too bad they don't make them like that anymore... except they do. Indulge your nostalgia by buying your kiddos these throwback supplies.

1. Mr. Sketch Scented Markers

Can you still remember what color was your favorite scent? We challenge you to not open these and sniff every single one of them before your child totes them off to school. (Amazon, $10)

2. Crayola Crayons 64 count

Only the coolest kids got the biggest box of crayons (the 96-count box didn't exist back in the olden days), and it was almost painful to use that first one and ruin the points. (crayolastore.com, $6)

3. BIC 4-Color ballpoint pen

How many boxes of Girl Scout Cookies did you have to sell to get something like this? Kids these days can just go pick one up at the store. They'll never understand the struggle. (Officesupply.com, $2)

4. Foam pencil grips

Once upon a time, a quarter could buy you a couple of these at the school store. They're not that cheap anymore, but they're still a pretty affordable way to dress up a boring pencil. (Wal-Mart, $2)

5. BIC mechanical pencils

Only the most sophisticated middle schoolers used these pencils, and only about half of the kids who used them could write a full paragraph without breaking off the lead. Bonus points if you remember what kid always had a stock of lead refills. (Office Depot, $5)

6. Gelly Roll Glaze pens

All you needed was a pack of gelly roll pens and black paper and you could create some of the coolest artwork around — not to mention they were super handy for illustrating your artistic abilities on the margins of the notes you passed. (Target, $9)

7. Five Star zipper binder

The Five Star zipper binder was the always on the top of our back-to-school wishlist. Sure, it was five times more expensive than the ordinary binder mom picked out, but this one zipped. Hello, sixth grade status symbol. (Office Depot, $17)

8. Fruit slice erasers

Who cared if your erasers actually worked? They just needed to make your homework smell like your favorite dessert. Thankfully, most fruit slice erasers did both. (reallygoodstuff.com, $5)

9. JanSport backpack

When we were in high school, the cool kids did not carry designer backpacks with patterns or wheels. We went out and picked out a plain-Jane JanSport in our favorite color of the rainbow, and decorated it ourselves with patches and Sharpies. Try not to have a heart attack if your kiddo does the same thing after you pay for this with your hard-earned cash. (jansport.com, $55)

10. Lisa Frank anything

If Lisa Frank made it, we bought it. Brightly-colored animals covered our notebooks, folders, binders and pens. The Lisa Frank empire is not what it used to be, but it's still around. Now you can pick up this collector set of stickers to decorate your supplies. (Amazon, $15)

11. Lunchables

How excited did you get when your mom packed a Lunchable instead of boring old sandwich? You can still bring that excitement to your kids, only now they get to have a lot more fun than just stacking crackers, meat and cheese. With the new Kabobbles, kids get to create their very own lunchtime kabobs.